Week 1: Paradox in Islam
This blog entry was certainly the most difficult to execute (and I have done so to the best of my stunted artistic ability). This picture is taken from far away but the word “Allah” is nestled into a heart. This is one of the central paradoxes of Islam, which Professor Asani discussed in the first week of class. God is both intimate and close to each believer, and at the same time God is transcendent, powerful, and awe-inspiring. Allah is everywhere in the most mundane things and events and at the same time Allah is impossible to understand in His divine nature. The Quran inspires love and fear. John Renard in his book Seven Doors to Islam describes the theological contradiction between omnipotence and human responsibility—if God is all-powerful and, then how can humans be held responsible for their actions. He writes, “As we have seen, one can interpret the Qur’an in many ways; but, on the whole, it maintains a paradoxical balance” (12). These are all theological paradoxes. There are also historical paradoxes. For instance, a religion which instructs good morals and kindness has simultaneously been the cause of millennia of violent conflicts. Part of this cultural studies approach was to encapsulate the irreconcilable aspects of Islam and actually celebrate them.
In the image above represents the way that God is both close and transcendent, in addition to other paradoxes. Each letter in the word “Allah” is rooted in a paradox. For instance, the top of the letter “L” is a rectangular, flat platform with a nonsensical staircase. Additionally, each letter has a different orientation. This alludes to the incoherence of faith. By definition faith does not make logical sense. Therefore, the paradoxes within Islam are not flaws but rather the substance of faith itself.
